Letters Jul Dec 07

Your Published Letters

Your July - December '07 Published Letters

From the December 31, 2007, edition of the Washington Examiner:

Alex Brown (letter, Dec 28) claims that "humanism", which he does not define, "permeates the public schools". How could this be possible when 85% of parents, taxpayers, teachers, administrators, and school board members are Christians of one sort or another?

Mr Brown also ducks the fact that his state's (Virginia's) constitution, thanks to Virginians Jefferson and Madison in the 18th century, clearly prohibits any form of tax aid to faith-based schools. If he doesn't like that wise prohibition, he should urge his legislators to amend the state constitution, which of course they won't because they know full well that the voters would defeat any such measure, as they have in every state where the issue has been on the ballot.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, Md

From the December 26, 2007, edition of the Birmingham News:

Vouchers don't do any good

In evaluating the Cleveland, Ohio, 8-year-old voucher program, the Indiana University Center for Evaluation found:

Public school students, on average, actually made larger academic gains than students in the voucher program (although there is not a statistically significant difference in academic achievement).

African-American students are underrepresented in the voucher program, even though the program was promoted as a way to help low-income and minority students.

Students who leave the voucher program have, on average, the lowest test scores of any students in the study. (It was not determined if these students left the program voluntarily or were dismissed by the private schools.)

This study, which was requested by the city of Cleveland, identified no academic benefit from vouchers.

A Jan. 28, 2006, article in The New York Times reported: "A large-scale, government-financed study has concluded that when it comes to math, students in regular public schools do as well as or significantly better than comparable students in private schools."

The clandestine method of subsidizing religion known as "school vouchers" has not been a worthwhile method of improving academic performance.

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the December 17, 2007, edition of the Nation:

Re: 'The New Atheists'

We need to differentiate between strident 'atheist fundamentalists', who attack all religion, and humanists, who see religion as varied and are eager to work with moderate and progressive Catholics, Protestants, Jews and others with whom they share many values and concerns, such as saving our nation and our planet from the myriad threats facing us.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, Md

From the December 14, 2007, edition of the TimesDaily:

How to avoid atheists

In her Dec. 7 letter, "Beware of book," Kathy Momic tells us that children should be protected against atheism.

She probably isn't acquainted with an atheist but "knows" that atheists are possessed by the devil, don't know right from wrong and don't believe in anything.

There are certain precautions she can take to protect herself and her children from these agents of Lucifer.

She could join an organization that does not admit atheists, e.g., the Ku Klux Klan, the Mafia, Christian militia groups. She could join a God-fearing terrorist group that blows up abortion clinics and high-rise buildings (Oklahoma City, World Trade Center); or she could restrict her friends to those spewing venomous hate upon individuals the Bible says should be put to death, e.g., non-believers and homosexuals.

To be on the safe side, there are havens of atheism that she should avoid: Ivy League universities; the Nobel laureate laden National Academy of Sciences; organizations concerned with the environment or civil rights; and Scandinavia, where the percentage of atheists is at least three times that of the United States.

She should stay in the Bible Belt with the highest religiosity (and highest violent crime rate) in the country.

The absurdity of religious myopia was exemplified after the 1997 school shootings in Paducha, Ky. In defense of the young killer who somebody called "godless," his pastor at the Lutheran Church said, "Michael Carnael is a Christian. He's a sinner, yes, but not an atheist."

I wonder if that made his victims less dead or the crime less wrong.

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the December 11, 2007, edition of the Idaho Statesman:

BEOWULF: Tale offers a metaphorfor modern struggles

The movie "Beowulf" reminds us of that first true masterpiece in English literature. For those of northern European ancestry, Beowulf is all that is left of our Genesis. The epic describes a time before Mediterranean missionaries arrived with their alien mystery religion about some mythical pagan vegetable deity who died and rose again.

Reaching across more than a millennium, "Beowulf " speaks to us today as an allegory for what afflicts our great nation. Just as "Beowulf" had to contend with the twin demons Grendel and Grendel's mother, so America is contending with the twin demons Bush and Cheney.

Like Beowulf, America will smite the Bush-Cheney demons next year when it rises up in righteous anger at the deceitful, treacherous, murderous usurpers who have brought so much misery to the world.

Sadly, just as in the "Beowulf" epic, there is another, more insidious monster waiting to confront us. Like the fire-breathing dragon that attacked "Beowulf," the angry Christian right is assaulting America with its venomous lies. Will America fall prey to the religious Reich or is there some Wiglaf who will end the religious war of terror that has been launched by angry, unemployable televangelists and their local lackeys?

GARY L. BENNETT, Emmett

From the December 10, 2007, edition of the Tuscaloosa News:

God should not be proselytized

Dear Editor: Pastor Dan Williams asks, 'If there is no God, what is he [Blair Scott] worried about the students being proselytized to?' [letters, 12/05/07]. I ask the pastor if he would tolerate proselytizing for Allah in classrooms. Alternatively, does he believe Allah has equal standing with his God? Proselytizing about God is hardly proselytizing about nothing, as he spins it. This is an attempt to use public schools to influence students to believe in the Judeo-Christian god described in the Bible and to promote Christianity.

Pastor Williams states. 'If God is nothing, then the Bible speaks to nothing and points to nothing and nobody.' The Bible originally spoke to the people who created the Bible, the Hebrews. It spoke to them about there culture, beliefs and their god, as well as other gods. This book can be a source of knowledge of a Semitic culture just as the Qur'an, the Iliad and Norse mythology can be a source of knowledge about other cultures and their superstitions.

Of course, Pastor Williams is really saying that a person who does not believe in God doesn't believe in anything and has a life of emptiness. This is pure nonsense. I want to know, not just believe. As soon as a proposition is supported by credible evidence, I accept it as fact. My mind is filled with evidence-supported beliefs. To me, there is nothing more rewarding, fulfilling and valuable than knowledge. Belief without evidence is meaningless.

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the December 10, 2007, edition of the Washington Examiner:

Nonbelievers deserve their own holiday film

Examiner Columnist Meghan Cox Gurdon bemoans the humanist themes in the book and film "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman. Yet her harangue appears as ignorant and intolerant as the boycott and protests by the Catholic League.

Pullman is not a "militant atheist," but philosophically an agnostic who prefers to avoid labels. And he has said that the religious impulse "is a critical part of the wonder and awe that human beings feel."

As for the film, which my family and I saw and enjoyed, it is really against intolerance and tyranny whether religious or otherwise - and reaffirms such values as kindness, intellectual curiosity and courage. Does Ms. Gurdon believe that those messages are wrong just because they come from a non-Christian author during the holidays?

Please understand that those of us with different ideas enjoy books and films, have children and celebrate the holidays, too. Can't we have a holiday film as well?

Kirk Wood should back up his disdain for secular humanists by boycotting the products of their secular minds. The fruits of quantum mechanics are: X-rays, CT scans, MRI scanners, ultrasound, laser surgery, radiotherapy and cyclotron beams for cancer treatment, transistors, microwaves and optical fibers. The giants of quantum mechanics have also been the giants of secularism.

Albert Einstein -- awarded the Nobel Prize for his explanation of the photoelectric effect. On March 24, 1954, Einstein answered a letter as follows: "It was, or course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly."

Steven Weinberg -- shared the Nobel Prize for contributing to the unification of the weak and electromagnetic forces in a single theory. He stated, "One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious."

Richard P. Feynman -- won the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on quantum electrodynamics. Feynman said, "There is definitely a conflict, I believe -- both in fact and in spirit -- over the metaphysical aspects of religion."

Murray Gell-Mann -- received the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the quark and other elementary particles. He was Humanist of the Year of the American Humanist Association for 2005.

I wonder why they haven't believed in God -- stupidity or evilness?

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the November 18, 2007, edition of the Utica Observer-Dispatch:

'Anti-Catholic' movie grossly exaggerated

The Catholic League recently called for a boycott of "The Golden Compass", a movie based on the first of three children’s fantasy books by Philip Pullman. The author, an open atheist, is accused of trying to “sell atheism to kids” and “bash Catholicism.”

This boycott is grossly exaggerated and severely misinformed.

The Catholic League says that atheism is “fueled by hate,” further spreading the prejudiced connotation. Sweeping statements like this are made throughout this campaign and reveal their intolerance of free thought and demonization of intellectual curiosity.

At the very least, the protesters must concede that the good and bad happen with and without the backing of religion. We should teach our children to embrace stories for the lessons they teach, not for who’s teaching them. I think that the Catholic League’s time would be better spent protesting the moral inadequacies within their own church.

Adam C. LaMonica

From the November 17, 2007, edition of the Anniston Star:

Reliance on prayer

Writer Stephen Wade states, "We need to put prayer back in school. It will teach them to rely on God more than the gun." Unfortunately, because relying on God has proved to be an exercise in futility, we have been forced to rely on the gun at times. People have been praying for peace for centuries, and for centuries armed conflict has shaped human history. God either thrives on human carnage, is deaf and blind, doesn.t give a darn or doesn't exist. Those who "rely on God' and call for prayer tell us that God is the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient one who loves us dearly. If so, do we really have to clue God in, and then beg him to keep multitudes of innocent people from being mutilated and destroyed? Students should learn to take responsibility for their own actions and spend more time learning about and understanding worldly events. They then would be better able to solve their own and the world's problems. We are not in a position to enjoy the luxury of simplistic solutions. e.g., prayer. Teaching schoolchildren to "rely on God" does them a disservice.

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the November 13, 2007, edition of the Montgomery Advertiser:

'Bible contains contradictions'

Gary Hardin is still waiting to see a biblical error. Each of the following pairs of biblical contradictions must contain an erroneous statement:

Our planet is eternal: "The earth abideth forever." (Ecclesiastes 1:4) It is doomed to extinction: "The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and works that are therein shall be burned up," (II Peter 3:10)

God is visible: "And the Lord appeared unto him." (Genesis 26:2); or invisible: "No man hath seen God at any time," (John 1:18).

God is all-powerful: "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," (Revelations 19:6). He is not stronger than iron: "but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron," (Judges 1:19).

The Lord said, "I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3:6) However, he is not above seeing the folly of his ways and changing: "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." (Exodus 32:14)

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the November 11, 2007, edition of the Tuscaloosa News:

'Bible full of immoral acts'

Dear Editor: If 'The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of Almighty God,' we need a new god. Here is a small sampling of the immoral, unethical and violent acts condoned and sometimes promoted by God and His Bible.

Adultery: Biblical hero Abraham impregnates his wife's servant.

Animal cruelty: Jesus sends 2,000 pigs plunging into the sea where they choke to death.

Anti-family values: Jesus proclaims, 'For I am come to set man against his father, and daughter against her mother ... '

Bigamy: Biblical hero Solomon possessed 700 wives.

Bigotry: God gives Moses the commandment to put all homosexuals to death.

Cannibalism: 'This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him.'

Violence: 'And we took all his cities and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones.'

Woman abuse: Biblical hero Moses dictates. 'But all the woman children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.'

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the October 29, 2007, edition of the Washington Times:

'Overpopulation leads to violence'

Georgie Anne Geyer was squarely on target in her column "Al's peaceful planet" (Oct 25). Al Gore's film and book "An Inconcenient Truth" certainly earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Geyer rightly points out that overpopulation and resource depletion pose serious threats to peace. Interestingly, this was the conclusion of an important report approved by President Gerald Ford in 1974, the National Security Study Memorandum 200, which was mysteriously marked "classified" and deep-sixed until almost the eve of the 1994 UN population conference in Cairo. The NSSM 200 report, which few people seem to know about, showed that overpopulation causes political instability and leads to violence, such as the Rwanda massacre.

The report recommended immediate steps to make family planning information and wherewithal universally available. Unfortunately, though the report was approved by a Republican president, the Reagan and Bush I and II administrations not only did nothing about it but they did all they could to see that nothing got done.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, MD

From the October 7, 2007, edition of the Boston Globe:

'Rejecting religion'

As a humanist, I found "The Nonbelievers" to be a refreshingly objective and inspiring article. As for the temporary differences of opinion reported in the larger community of reason, I fully expect Harvard University's effective expression of humanism to overcome them. After all, people who identify themselves as atheists, agnostics, humanists, and others are all in essential agreement. Every one of us has experienced the feeling of liberation that comes when a nontheistic outlook frees us from myth and dogma.

Re Mary Ann Cejka's article "Defending the faith" (Sept 14), the question needs to be asked: Why in a traditionally solidly Catholic country like Spain did most Spaniards side with the secular-trending elected Republican government and feel animosity toward the church while church officials sided with Franco's rebels and the Nazis and Italian fascists?

In the first free elections after Franco's death the distribution of votes from left to right was just about the same as in the Spanish elections of early 1936.

When I was in Spain in late 1981 I was pleased to hear that the cardinal primate of Toledo apologized publicly for the Church's support for Franco and declared that it would not be a sin to vote for the Socialist Workers Party, which won.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, MD

From the October 2, 2007, edition of Christian Century:

"Advice to atheists ... "

Marty Marty's "Atheism redux" (July 24) was right on target. Those who loudly proclaim their atheism from the rooftops seem to spend all their effort denouncing all religion, while failing to differentiate between militant fundamentalism and the mainstream, -- and who seldom offer positive alternatives or express interest in working with the religious mainstream to promote such common values as social justice, peace, saving the environment, civil liberties, religious freedom and democracy -- should all read Marty's good-natured essay and "get a life".

Ben Franklin's advice is as sound now as it was over two centuries ago: "We should then cease to reproach each other with what was done by our ancestors, but judge the present character of sects or churches by their present conduct only".

Naomi Klein brings up some excellent points about how the heads of the states that make up North America believe that allowing protestors to be "seen and heard" from behind barbed wire while our leaders dine at the Chateau Montebello with the CEOs of Chevron, Ford, Lockheed Martin, and Wal-Mart--all who are on Global Exchange's 2005 list of worst corporations--is actually an acceptable.

I recently authored an article for The Humanist magazine titled "The Security and Prosperity Partnership Summit, Are Our Leaders Undermining Democracy?" In it I wrote, "Imagine how we would shake our heads in pity if we were to read about the heads of state of three developing countries barricaded in a luxury villa with the wealthy ruling class elite while the people protested behind the barbed wire. "If only they could live in a democracy," we would say with a regretful sigh."

I wish I had been creative enough to refer to it as the "Big Brother Democracy" it is. The mainstream media (except for Agence France Presse) has done little more than regurgitate the official press releases on the summit, so thank you, Ms. Klein and The Nation, for taking a critical look at what's happening.

Edward Johnson American Humanist Association Washington, DC

From the September 16, 2007, edition of the Anniston Star:

Re "Dancing to our DNA"

In an earlier letter, I did not say, "If there is a God, how could he allow such evil to exist?" I said that I could not revere the cruel, capricious, vindictive and irrational Judeo-Christian God.

As to moral laws and a moral lawgiver, Plato effectively addressed this issue more than 2,300 years ago. Socrates asked if a behavior is good because the gods declare it to be good or because the behavior is good. If the former, then morality is arbitrarily determined by capricious gods. If the latter, then a behavior is objectively good and humans can know right from wrong using the power of reason without a divine lawgiver.

Reason tells us to protect the well-being of children with laws against child abuse. God's laws advocate child abuse. "Stubborn and rebellious sons are to be stoned by the men of the city until they die." Deuteronomy 21:18-21.

The Golden Rule puts the onus for responsible behavior on the individual. Exercising reason, you treat others as you want to be treated. The individual is the moral arbiter, not God. Atheists have no problem determining right and wrong. Reason does not "self-destruct."

DAVID N. MILESOrange Beach

From the September 13, 2007, edition of the Montgomery Adviser:

Would omnipotent God need government?

I find it astonishing that Frank Hardy has so little confidence in his God -- a God purported to be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and all-merciful.

It is hard to imagine that a being with the above qualities would merely put his tail between his legs and skulk away when he and his followers are challenged by the ACLU.

Does God really need the government to ensure that he is acknowledged? If God's will can be undermined by "a plot afoot today to hamper and to discourage those who are Christians," I fail to see how he can meaningfully bless America or protect us from the power of Satan.

If, in fact, God is losing the battle against the ACLU, I can only conclude that God is devoid of any real power or does not know or care what is happening on Earth.

However, if I were a devout Christian, I would prefer to believe that God is concerned with the well-being of all humankind and is not obsessed with having his ego stroked with conspicuous prayers and symbols in the public arena.

Possibly, as our deist founding fathers believed when they omitted God from the Constitution, God does not interfere in the affairs of man. Maybe God has confidence that the creatures he endowed with intelligence can follow a path of righteousness by eschewing superstition and embracing the power of reason.

Thank you, ACLU, for protecting my freedoms from the will of the religious majority.

DAVID N. MILESOrange Beach

From the September 11, 2007, edition of the Idaho Statesman:

Letter of the Day: So much misery is the result of religion

Today, Sept. 11, marks the anniversary of one of the most perfidious attacks on American citizens.

This was the infamous 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, which has been described by historians as the worst Indian massacre in American history - except that it wasn't committed by Indians, it was committed by ordinary Euro-Americans in a frenzy of religious madness working under the orders of a deluded, self-styled man of faith.

Fast forward 144 years to 2001 and once again innocent Americans were murdered by religiously inspired zealots working under the orders of a deluded, self-styled man of faith.

How can so much misery be the result of religion?

First, one must realize that all religions require their adherents to turn off their minds. This makes them more easily susceptible to control by their power-hungry clergy. The Abrahamaic religions go one step further by commanding that there be no other gods.

From this commandment, as Thomas Jefferson so poignantly wrote, "Millions of innocent men, women, and children . have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned."

Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg has concluded that all it takes for good people to do bad things is religion. Now you know why these atrocities occurred.

Gary Bennett, Emmett

From the September 10, 2007, edition of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch:

'Humanism is rich, positive philosophy'

The August 31 Faith & Values article "Against the tide" dealt mainly with the negative side of humanism and atheism. Humanism is a positive philosophy or "lifestance" that places the highest importance on reason, science, compassion, democracy, freedom, and ethics. Humanists share many values with progressive Catholics, Protestants, Jews and others concerned with the problems that face all of us, such as global warming, resource depletion, deforestation, desertification, the growing gap between the superrich and the rest of us, racism, sexism, xenophobia, deficits in social justice, civil liberties and democracy. Naturalistic humanism has a rich positive tradition, while atheism deals only with the absence of belief in a deity. Journalists and others need to make this distinction more clear.

During times of armed conflict there is a crescendo of calls for prayers for peace. But just what, pray tell, is the causal connection between prayer and peace?

Individuals and clergy have been praying for peace for centuries, and for centuries armed conflict has shaped human history. Either God thrives on human carnage, is deaf and blind, doesn't give a darn or does not exist.

Those who call for prayer tell us that God is the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient one who loves us dearly. If so, do we really have to clue God in and then beg him to keep thousands of innocent people from being mutilated and destroyed?

We cannot rely on simplistic solutions to geopolitical problems. We must spend more time learning about and understanding world conditions, and less time attempting to get a free ride from ineffectual deity.

Instead of praying, resort to reason and demand that our leaders do the same. Divine inspiration has led the president, and hence our nation, into and not out of turbulent times.

There are Americans with exceptional powers of reason; these are the people we need in positions of authority. A superstitious leader engaging in mysticism will surely fail to preserve America's peace and prosperity.

David N. MilesOrange Beach, Ala.

From the August 31, 2007 issue of the National Catholic Reporter.:

'Christopher Hitchens'

Christopher Hitchens and I had a half hour "conversation" on July 12 on the syndicated "Interfaith Voices" radio program hosted by Sr Maureen Fiedler of the Quixote Center.

My problem with Hitchens is not so much with what he doesn't believe as with his blanket, uncritical assault on all religion, progressive as well as fundamentalist/extremist, and his failure to offer any positive alternative. We are all believers in some things and disbelievers in whatever conflicts with what we do believe. In a pluralistic society and world beset by serious problems (global warming, resource depletion, deforestation, desertification, the growing gap between the superrich and everyone else, racism, xenophobia, deficits in social justice, civil liberties and democracy, etc) it is imperative that progressive Catholics, Protestants, Jews, humanists, Muslims, Hindues, and others work together to the maximum possible extent to promote the many values we share.

Ben Franklin got it right over two centuries ago when he wrote, "We should then cease to reproach each other with what was done by our ancestors, but judge the present character of sects or churches by their present conduct only".

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, Md.

From the August 27, 2007 issue of the Washington Examiner.:

'Congress has low ratings because it's not doing much'

Congress' approval rating is dropping mainly because congressional Democrats have shown too little interest in doing anything about the Bush administration's serious damage to our country's economy, civil liberties, the global warming and energy crisis, national security, armed forces, international image, women's rights, separation of powers, the federal judiciary, etc., not to mention the disastrous Iraq war and the neglect in cleaning up Afghanistan and Al Queda. If the Dems want to win the White House next year and expand their majority in Congress, they are going to have to show some results, and sooner rather than later.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, Md.

From the August 22, 2007 issue of the New York Times.:

Do You Say "Atheist"? (Re: "I Say 'Atheist,' for Several Good Reasons" HNN Aug. 22, 2007)

Not only did Bobby Kirkhart make a well-reasoned argument in favor of self-identifying as an atheist, she also pointed out the downside of debates over which nontheist words are bad for our community. The only thing related to how we identify that may harm our community is the tendency of some to attack their allies over how they've chosen to self-identify.

Once members of the general public understand who we are and what we really believe and don't believe, they tend to lump us together in much the same way black and gays continue to be stereotyped. If we use our energies to further separate ourselves and divide the tiny number of us who are "out" about our minority view, we do more harm than just waste our time, for such internal battles squander the opportunity before us. With our profile raised like never before and our leaders cooperating like never before, it's time set aside divisiveness and start changing people's minds about the respectability of our common convictions.

Roy Speckhardt, Washington, DCAmerican Humanist Association

From the August 22, 2007 issue of the New York Times.:

'Graduating From the Electoral College'

Your [Aug 22] editorial on the Electoral College was right on target. Proportioning the Electoral College would be fair only if all states were required to do so, and in the same way.

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, Md.

From the August 16, 2007 issue of the Austin American-Statesman.:

Abortion, immigration

Former U. S. Rep. Tom DeLay last month told a college Republican audience that there is a link between legal abortion in the United States and illegal immigration. Yes, but not the way he thinks.

In the real world, illegal immigration to the United States from Mexico and Central America is because of overpopulation in that area, largely because of the scarcity of family planning, education and wherewithal. Plus, abortion is illegal in most of those countries.

If family planning and abortion were legal south of the border, there would be a lot less illegal immigration.

I realize that E.J. Graff apparently slept through part of the Gay Presidential Debate she nonetheless decided to write about (it was nearing 11, past my bedtime, so I won't be able to give you details), but has she slept through the first part of the twenty-first-century as well? It’s insulting to the LGBTQ community to demean the issues of civil liberties that we care so deeply about and say, “these are [not] the most important issues of the day” and "Please, let them talk about something besides marriage." They are important to me, and I am not at all grateful that most of the candidates danced and ducked the questions with a “big wink and nod.”

Her tasteless dismissal of Dennis Kucinich as a “pixie,” when he was the one and only candidate in the debate to unequivocally support the rights of everyone in the LGBTQ community, is offensive to everyone who has worked, often at their own peril, to bring these issues to a public forum. We are past the point where we have to settle for the “elect-able candidate.” We got Don’t Ask Don’t Tell the last time we did that, a mistake we don’t have to make again.

The recent Community Marketing Inc. survey found that 92.5 percent of gay men and 91 percent of lesbians voted in the 2004 presidential race--9 out of 122 million. More than enough to make our collective voice, especially in a democratic primary, one to listen to. It’s way past time to acquiesce to "not ready for marriage" or “let the States decide” from the candidates. I can, and will, ask for the rights I deserve, while Ms. Graff naps through the most meaningful period in LGBTQ history.

Ed JohnsonAmerican Humanist AssociationWashington, DC

From the July 26, 2007 issue of the Montgomery Advertiser:

Letter insulted non-believers

Gene Dismukes' recent letter, "Atheists cry out for help as well," was both nonsensical and insulting. In the situation described, a person of reason would be concentrating on extracting themselves from the dangerous situation and would not waste precious moments attempting to communicate with a deity.

Those of faith just can't fathom the fact that individuals who reject mysticism and supernaturalism and embrace reason and science will not flip-flop at a moment of personal crisis. Of course, it is during a crisis when real solutions are essential; and our belief in reason and science is reinforced and relied upon -- not reduced or rejected.

When diagnosed with "life-threatening" cancer 21 years ago, I eschewed prayer and the clergy, placing my faith in medical science and its practitioners. Miraculously, after radiation and chemotherapy the tumor disappeared.

If religious faith helps a person through a crisis, that is wonderful. But don't insult those of us who choose reason as a guiding force by stating that we will give it up in favor of reliance on divine help when the going gets tough. That is the equivalent of saying you will lose your faith in God after enduring a personal tragedy.

David N. MilesOrange Beach

From the July/August 2007 issue of Liberty (published by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church:

'Devastating'

Todd McFarland ("My Country-Sweet Land," March/April) completely devastates Eric Lipman's crabbed view of religious liberty and the meaning of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. As Madison biographer and historian Irving Brant shows in his book The Bill of Rights, the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment very clearly intended to make the Bill of Rights applicable to state and local government and the Congress that approved the Fourteenth shared that understanding. Unfortunately, it took many years for the Supreme Court to get the message and start to gradually bring the Fourteenth to life.

Justice Rehnquist's peculiar stance on the First and Fourteenth Amendments was ahistorical and simply wrong.

The Bush/Cheney administration got the US into an unnecessary war, built on lies, that has killed 3,600 US troops, wounded 50,000 more, alienated our allies, strengthened our enemies, weakened our security, fractured our armed forces, worsened the mess in Afghanistan, cost US taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, and failed to catch Osama bin Laden.

Further, this administration, the most corrupt and incompetent in our history, has mishandled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, overseen the widening of the gap between the superrich and the rest of us, taken government to new levels of unnecessary secrecy, undermined the rule of law and civil liberties, ignored the climate and health care crises, promoted theocratic government, done nothing to prevent the outflow of jobs to other countries, and embarrassed our nation before the whole world.

Finally, the media have not done their job of adequately exposing all of these "accomplishments".

Edd DoerrSilver Spring, MD

From the July 10, 2007, edition of the Tuscaloosa News:

Religion used as a political weapon

Larry Logan [letters, July 9] urges us "to vote for a new president of the United States in 2008 who is truly Christian and always stands up for God." He is part of a segment of the population that is convinced we have a choice between a God-fearing Christian and a member of a political party that dishonors and mocks God by advocating individual liberties. They feel that no other issues are worthy of consideration.

The strategy of the Republican Party and Religious Right to use religion as a political weapon is not new. It almost worked in the acrimonious campaign of 1800. The religious attack upon Thomas Jefferson may have been even more irrational and venomous than the campaign against John Kerry and the strategy we may see in 2008.

One Federalist writer declared that voters had a clear choice: "God -- And a religious president ... [or] Jefferson -- And no God." Fortunately for all of us today, the man who placed reason above divine revelation and who advocated reliance on human solutions for human problems continued his invaluable public service as our nations third president.

In 2004 we had a choice -- a choice between presidential decisions based on reason that would benefit the body politic and presidential decisions based on personal religious beliefs that pandered to religious zealots. Now look at the mess we are in. "Standing up for God" (who apparently Logan feels cannot stand up for himself) doesn't qualify one as an effective leader. It's time to return to reason.

DAVID N. MILESOrange Beach

From the July 1, 2007, edition of the Birmingham News:

Evolutionary process ongoing

Evolution suffers from the misconception that it is only a theory and doesn't have practical applications. This, of course, is nothing more than a rallying cry from fundamentalist preachers.

The public should understand that the Darwinian process of natural selection continues up to this moment and has important significance for medical science. Disease-producing agents, known as pathogens, are evolving and pose a medical threat. The process of natural selection has amplified mutant strains of pathogens. Once-effective antibiotics have lost their potency against these disease-causing microorganisms; an example is tuberculosis.

Microorganisms are not alone in this rapid evolutionary process. Many species of insects and agricultural pests have evolved tolerance to pesticides through natural selection, and even rats are developing a resistance to poison.

By understanding and incorporating the evolutionary process of natural selection, scientists are taking measures to stem the resurgence of deadly diseases. I ask fundamentalists if the Bible can provide us with the knowledge to defend against mutant strains of disease-causing organisms.

Science is a dialectical process that continually advances through trial and error. Beliefs that are etched in stone ultimately fall victim to enlightenment and lose their credibility.